United We Stand: Racial Reconciliation in West TN

This United We Stand livestream will explore Tennessee’s collective imagination as a tool shaping a safer, more just civic life in which all Tennesseans belong, including the evolving roles played by civil society, media, and the State in reversing the “othering” of any Tennessean.

The West TN theme of Racial Reconciliation will feature Ida B. Wells and Weakley County Reconciliation Project videos, and a panel discussion facilitated by public historian Brigitte Jones in conversation with the following panelists:

• Dr. Aram Goudsouzian (University of Memphis) can offer the history and subsequent timeline of Black Memphis and its relationship to the Civil Rights Movement from emancipation to the present day.
• Laura Kebede-Twumasi (University of Memphis) can speak to their work with the Institute for Public Service Reporting and the role of journalism and the media as it relates to incidents of racial violence in West Tennessee.
• Tami Sawyer (Politician and Civil Rights Activist), can discuss her work and the role that politics has played in the fight for equal rights in West Tennessee.

There is a free public humanities program open to all. Pre-registration is required. The livestream link will be shared with all registered participants in advance of the program.